Appendix 1: Guidance on Information Gathering and Brainstorming
Use a Checklist
Use a checklist to help you fully scope your list of impacts. We recommend using the "Impact Checklist"6 as a starting point, though you may wish to amend the checklist to ensure other areas are considered.
Review the Literature
A lot of literature discusses the effects of different types of policies. To determine what works, it is important to look at what has been written on the policy questions you are considering. One way to accomplish this is examining what is known about the impact of particular interventions from a range of studies. Studies should be weighted according to their rigour and applicability. Not all policy processes can afford this level of analysis, or the time required for it. However, almost always, good policy requires some attempt to summarise the overall findings of a number of research efforts. If something works in a number of places, for a number of different people, it is more likely to work in New Zealand.
Assess What Impacts Similar Policies Have Had
In New Zealand and overseas, policies that are similar or identical to some of your options may have been implemented. If this is the case, there may be commentary on the impacts these policies have had, as well as knowledge within the governments of those countries and among affected parties. Care should be taken to ensure that such studies are comparable with current New Zealand circumstances, either "as is" or with adjustments. There are several extensive "benefits transfer" databases of previously quantified impacts resulting from policies worldwide.
Talk to Other Government Agencies and People within Your Own Agency
Talking to people in Government can be an efficient way of improving the analysis of your options. Policy analysts can draw on their previous experiences with policy processes and their knowledge of the effects of past Government interventions. The departmental consultation process is a useful way of obtaining comment from Government agencies, but you should talk to those who are likely to have a particular interest or expertise in the area early in your policy development process to give them time to provide full comment.
Talk to Affected Parties
Affected parties are likely to have a detailed knowledge of how options will impact upon them. For example, businesses are likely to be in the best position to know how much it will cost them to meet new requirements and how changes to the law will influence their activities, including the way they do business and their profits. You may wish to talk to affected parties directly or through representative organisations. If you take the representative organisations route, make sure the representative organisation is relaying the views of the people who are likely to be affected; otherwise you may not be receiving the right information. It can be important to consult widely in order to avoid regulatory capture. For example, while directly affected parties may favour one option, this option may not be the overall best option. Note that talking to affected parties involves a trade-off between refining the proposal to allow informed comment and not pre-judging the best outcome and making comments redundant. You can find names of businesses who are interested in being consulted on the Business Consultation Database website.
A useful way of consulting on the impacts of options with affected parties is to develop a full description of each option and a preliminary assessment of the impacts of each option, then ask affected parties to comment on your assessment of the impacts, including whether there are further impacts. Where the RIA requirements apply, discussion documents must include questions and/or discussion of the problem, options and impacts of options (see RIA Guidelines).
Talk to Experts
For example, scientists, social scientists, economists, engineers.
Back to Top